Second Tabi'atstani Civil War
The Second Tabi'atstani Civil War was an internal conflict that occurred in the USSRT from the 24th September 2000 to the 27th March 2002. Background On the 21st August 2000, President Pashenko proposed to halve the number of personnel in the armed forces and legalise opposition parties in Tabi'atstan. On the 21st September, a month before this was due to happen, hardliner politicians supported by the military and most of the government staged a coup in the capital city. Tanks shelled pro-Pashenko offices and several parts of the capital were badly damaged. Pashenko exited the presidential palace in defiance and attempted to negotiate with the troops surrounding the building. He was thus killed in a hail of fire from GKSB snipers deployed in buildings in the surrounding area, and the USSRT was not split up into many different states. Pashenko was given a state burial, but is considered one of the less respectable politicians in Tabi'atstani history. The result of President Pashenko's death was a power struggle between the hardliners and reformers in the Tabi'atstani Communist Party. The country also did not have a leader for the first time since the assassination of Boris Dejanovich Yurenev. Conflict Fighting between rebels and pro-government forces began in the city of Naftshahr on the 24th September, and by October, the USSRT had descended into civil war. During the battle, the Front for National Unity and Democracy was formed by second-tier functionaries in the communist party who had been supporters of Pashenko and a mix of liberal democratic reformers and Islamists. Roughly 157,000 anti-government civilian paramilitaries, backed by around 13,000 defecting military troops and the newly formed Advisory Council of Ministers, were pitted against the Tabi'atstani Armed Forces and the Tabi'atstani Revolutionary Guards. By the start of November, the rebels held parts of the Azeristan, Bajiristan, Biyabun-e Markaz, Dargaz, Kavadhshehr, and Southern Tabi'atstan provinces, and they had expanded to around 303,200 troops. Furthermore one high ranking military officer, Lieutenant General Yemelyan Kirillyn Maksimov, had defected to the anti-government troops. Hunt for Lieutenant General Maksimov On the 12th January 2001, General Rostislav Stanimirovich Kozlov of the Tabi'atstani Army declared that the killing or capture of former Lieutenant General Yemelyan Kirillyn Maksimov was to be the military's top priority, as the VeKoVSil High Command believed that the killing of the former Tabi'atstani military officer would destroy the rebel leadership. On the 17th January 2001, a Tabi'atstani government scout team located former Lieutenant General Maksimov near the border between the Kavedhshehr and Jangalstan provinces. The opposition military officer was then killed in the ensuing firefight when a government BRDM-1 2P27 under Sergeant Abolfazl Dara Charmchi fired an anti-tank rocket at Maksimov's BTR-152S command vehicle. Unexpectedly, rebel attacks against the communist government of the USSRT did not stop, and the government was forced to make a new battle plan, codenamed Operation Golden Dawn. Meanwhile, anti-government forces split into two groups; one to hold the city of Shushtavar, and another larger force to take Merdab province. Battle for Merdab Beginning of the Siege of Shushtavar On the 10th February 2001, 150,000 troops from the Tabi'atstani Armed Forces and the Tabi'atstani Revolutionary Guards moved in to encircle the rebel-held city of Shushtavar in Dargaz province. They were faced by roughly 136,000 anti-government paramilitaries and 350 military troops that had defected to the rebels early in the civil war. Rebel forces inside the city were thus cut off from reinforcements and supplies, along with a small number of civilians that had decided to stay in the city. On the night of the 12th February, government artillery units launched a massive barrage of artillery fire into the city, quickly followed by messages broadcast over radios and loudspeakers ordering the rebels to surrender and informing them that negotiators would enter the city to discuss surrender terms. However, as the negotiators entered the city in a staff car at 1:12AM, they were met by heavy machine gun fire and quickly retreated. The next day, Tabi'atstani government troops launched their first assault against rebel forces in the city. Tanks backed by self-propelled anti-aircraft guns providing suppressive fire moved into the city, and by 11:30AM, government troops had captured the city square and the city's train station. As a result of this, rebel forces decided to attempt to break out of the city, with a small hole being created in government lines by 5:50PM. The rebels then beat a hasty retreat to the coastal Merdab province, with the journey lasting around a month. Insurgency stage By May 2001, the opposition forces were in such poor shape that the rebels took to guerrilla tactics rather than large-scale battles with Tabi'atstani government troops. However, the rebels still controlled the strategic port city of Batelaqshahr. Arrival of Synterkosian mercenaries By March 2001, the rebels were suffering from heavy losses and lack of adequate supplies. However, on the 19th April 2001, the Executive Board of Directors of the United Consortium of Synterkos announced that it would provide support to the rebels. On the 25th April 2001, members of the terrorist Battenberg Group and Synterkosian mercenaries led by Major Peers Headley Vance started planning to support Tabi'atstani opposition forces, and by the 12th May 2001, they had rendezvoused with the rebels in Tabi'atstan. Vance brought with him several light aircraft armed with rocket pods and machine guns dubbed MiniCOIN aircraft. With this planes, he attacked ships in the southern Tabi'atstani region where he was operating with the rebels, paralysing government naval forces based at the Larka and Karzhag islands. Vance also ordered the construction of a massive defence system around the final rebel stronghold of Batelaqshahr. As such, the Tabi'atstani government launched Operation Zealous Vengeance which was supposed to force the rebels and the Synterkosian mercenaries to surrender or face overwhelming numbers of tanks and artillery. When Tabi'atstani troops arrived at Batelaqshahr on the 7th June 2001, they were met with a large minefield, anti-tank ditches and a circle of Qender Zjarri bunkers surrounding the city. Furthermore, government supply lines came under attack from insurgents outside the city, wreaking havoc with logistics. The Tabi'atstani Defence Council then ordered the deployment mine-clearing and engineering troops, with tanks providing suppressive fire, and by the 21st June 2001, a path had been cleared into the city, where street fighting ensued. Running out of supplies and severely outnumbered, the rebels surrendered Batelaqshahr to government forces on the 2nd September 2001. Government troops then proceeded to carry out mass executions of the rebels. Major Vance was captured, and despite Synterkosian protests, was tried in a Tabi'atstani military court and was shot. Surviving rebels and mercenaries from the siege were sent to labour camps or reconstruction work, where many of them died of exhaustion or starvation. Battle of the Mianav Marshes Without any urban areas left under their control, the opposition forces marched towards their base in the Mianav Marshes, where disease and lack of food started to take their toll on the rebel troops. However, the marshes also acted as a natural barrier against government forces, who were unable to use their superior armoured forces in the muddy swamps. On the 7th October 2001, the Tabi'atstani launched its first assault against rebel forces in the marshes, and by the time the battle had ended on the 22nd January 2002, both sides had taken heavy casualties, with the rebels being unable to recover from the loss. End of the rebellion After the battle of the Mianav Marshes, the rebels had no further territory to retreat to, and although scattered rebel units continued to fight on, on the 27th March 2002, rebel commander Eshqid Sepouya Mihdi surrendered his forces to the Tabi'atstani Revolutionary Army, marking the end of the Second Tabi'atstani Civil War. Aftermath The Second Tabi'atstani Civil War failed to bring about any significant liberalisation of the political environment of the USSRT, and actually served to force the government to be even more oppressive in the political and social aspects of life in the USSRT. Rather than making the communist government look weak, the civil war made the CPT look strong again. Whilst other socialist governments like those in Eastern Europe had collapsed due to strikes and protests, the CPT had remained in power even when faced with organised armed opposition with foreign military backing. Furthermore, in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, the government quickly started new reconstruction projects to repair the widespread damage caused by the war. To prevent any similar uprisings from occurring again, the Politburo moved to install a hardliner as the President of the USSRT, and thus chose to elect Louis Juk-Liu Chan, a former colonel in the Tabi'atstani Revolutionary Army Ground Force and aide of President Liu Sutai, to be the new President. Weaponry and tactics Rebel control over occupied territory was weak, especially outside major cities. Even in the cities, the rebels had trouble asserting power over members of the populace they governed, except for in Shushtavar, the main anti-government headquarters. Although the rebels were initially welcomed by some members of the population, they soon lost popularity as they appeared to be bringing about a new era of chaos with no real benefits in sight. Furthermore, looting committed by anti-government forces quickly turned public opinion against them, and the killing of Lieutenant General Maksimov dealt a huge blow to rebel morale. The Defence Council's refusal to recall units in East Valreșia, Györmár-Kazvhalia, Krakozhia, and Trevallyland helped lengthen the conflict as it was unable to bring the full force of the Tabi'atstani Revolutionary Army down on the rebels. The chaotic situation also led to the Defence Council being unable to effectively announce a total mobilisation, and thus not all reserves were called up during the fighting. Nevertheless, TRA troops generally remained loyal throughout the conflict, and TRAF airpower had a significant impact on the war, as the rebels lacked any form of air superiority. As the situation worsened, the Politburo announced that each province was to raise its own militia forces to fight the rebels, which would form the Territorial Defence Armies. International reaction Human rights and terrorism War crimes In the midst of the chaos, the Tabi'atstani Politburo made certain rash decisions, such as ordering the Tabi'atstani Air Force to bomb buildings in large cities that contained anti-communist fighters. Similarly, the use of heavy artillery and chemical warfare in cities was sanctioned by the Tabi'atstani Defence Council, causing heavy damage and a number of civilian casualties. Category:Tabi'atstan Category:Military of Tabi'atstan